Mortgage program a bust with 50% dropout rate?

We have previously written about the Obama Administration’s program to encourage mortgage modifications.  Well, the news is in and it’s not good.

According to the Associated Press,

“Nearly half of the 1.3 million homeowners who enrolled in the Obama administration's flagship mortgage-relief program have fallen out.

“The program is intended to help those at risk of foreclosure by lowering their monthly mortgage payments. Friday's report from the Treasury Department suggests the $75 billion government effort is failing to slow the tide of foreclosures in the United States, economists say.”

 “Approximately 630,000 people who had tried to get their monthly mortgage payments lowered through the government program have been cut loose through July, according to the Treasury report. That's about 48 percent of  those who had enrolled since March 2009. And it is up from more than 40 percent through June.”

 Who is to blame?

“Many borrowers have complained that the government program is a bureaucratic nightmare. They say banks often lose their documents and then claim borrowers did not send back the necessary paperwork.

“The banking industry said borrowers weren't sending back their paperwork. They also have accused the Obama administration of initially pressuring them to sign up borrowers without insisting first on proof of their income. When banks later moved to collect the information, many troubled homeowners were disqualified or dropped out.”

 One thing is clear—we are facing more foreclosures.

Read the full report.

 

For your next title order or 

if you have questions about what you see here, contact 

Stephen M. Flatow 

Vested Title Inc. 

648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, 

Jersey City, NJ 07306 

Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506 

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Is the FDIC letting the foxes get a second chance at the hen house?

From the Associated Press:

“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. took over ShoreBank, with $2.16 billion in assets and $1.54 billion in deposits. Urban Partnership Bank, the newly chartered financial institution, agreed to assume ShoreBank's deposits and nearly all its assets.”

ShoreBank was shut down by the FDIC on Friday.  It was long expected.  According to the Associated Press, the bank

“has been known for its social activism but racked by financial troubles in recent months. A consortium funded by several of the biggest U.S. financial firms is buying its assets and pledging to operate the new bank by the same principles.”

So, what’s so strange about this turn of events? 

In an unusual move, the FDIC allowed some of ShoreBank's executives to continue running the restructured bank. Executives who joined ShoreBank recently, as the bank struggled to raise capital, will manage Urban Partnership Bank. These managers "did not contribute to the bank's problems," the FDIC said.

Well, we’ll see if the FDIC is right about that or if this is just another case of insiders getting a second chance at the gold.

Read the full story here.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow

Vested Title Inc.

648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453,

Jersey City, NJ 07306

Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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 OK, you've just bought a house or taken out a new mortgage.  In front of you is a stack of paper.  What do you do with that pile?  Well, an article by Carla Hill on Realty Times, Paperwork to Keep After Closing, is a concise guide to doing just that and is worthwhile to post in its entirety.

At the end of closing, a large stack of papers sits in front of you. How do you know which ones to file away for future use?

To make your job of sorting through the papers a little easier, here are a few "be sure to save" items.

1. Truth in Lending statement: This handy paperwork helps to summarize the details of your mortgage, including your percentage rate.

2. Insurance: Not only does it serve for proof of coverage, but just in the case you need to make a claim, you will have contact and coverage information on hand.

3. Deed: This paperwork proves that the property has "indeed" been transferred to your ownership.

4. Riders: These are sale contract changes (amendments) that affect you directly.

5. HUD-1 Settlement Statement: This is a great itemized list of your closing costs. It will be especially important for when it comes time to pay income taxes.

Be sure to keep all of your paperwork in an organized filing system and in a fire-proof safe. For a more in depth list of items to keep, be sure to ask your lender and real estate agent.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact 

Stephen M. Flatow 

Vested Title Inc.

vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Calling all credit card users- New credit card rules begin

By the time you are reading this, rules for credit cards will have changed. “Newly purchased gift cards won't expire as quickly, and late fees on credit card payments won't be as punishing."

“The final stage of consumer protections signed into law this year go into effect Sunday. Yet they only curb select practices; other fees and charges still abound.”

Here are some of the new safeguards, but remember, you can still get burned.

Penalty fees:

New protection:

Fees for late payments and other transgressions will be capped to the amount of the violation, up to $25. And, a single violation can no longer result in more than one fee.

Gaps to watch: Technically, there isn't an outright ban on penalty fees higher than $25.

“There aren't any caps on other charges. And not surprisingly, many issuers hiked fees for balance transfers, foreign transactions and cash advances in the past year.”

Rate hikes:
New protection:

“Banks must review a rate hike every six months to decide whether the increase is still warranted. If the factors that prompted the hike are no longer applicable, the rate must be lowered.”

This rule applies to hikes dating to Jan. 1 of last year, when banks began raising rates in anticipation of the new regulations.

Gaps to watch: 

“Even if a bank finds that a rate should be lowered, the reduction doesn't have to restore the previous interest rate.”

Gift cards:

Expiration dates

New protection:

“Gift cards issued after Aug. 22 must have expiration dates that are at least five years from their date of purchase.”

Gap to watch:

“The rule doesn't apply to certain gift cards, such as those issued as part of a rewards or loyalty program.”

Inactivity and service fees:

New protection:

“Such fees can only be charged if the card hasn't been used for at least one year. After that, only one fee can be charged each month.”

Gaps to watch:

“There's no cap on inactivity or service fees. So even though you can only be assessed one monthly fee, it could quickly eat away at a card's value if it's not used.”

It's a first step, some one say a small one, others a big one, in giving consumers more protection.  Let's see what Congress does next.

Read the Associated Press article.

For your next title order or 

if you have questions about what you see here, contact 

Stephen M. Flatow 

Vested Title Inc. 

648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453, 

Jersey City, NJ 07306 

Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506 

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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Loss of state support may end horse racing in New Jersey

New Jersey property owners are already hit hard by the state of New Jersey’s economy.  Taxes, taxes, and taxes head the list of complaints.  Now, a double-edged sword is being raised at one of N.J.’s homegrown businesses—horse racing.

According to a special report in the Asbury Park Press,

“Those in the New Jersey equine industry say the horse-racing business generates $780 million annually for the state's economy, responsible for more than 6,500 jobs.

“But with Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to shift the state's focus from horse racing to the casinos in Atlantic City, local horse farmers and other business owners worry the equine industry would lose its vitality or dissipate altogether.

"’People in the sport are going to go where horse racing is viable,'' said Tim Clevenger, 26, who tends to standardbreds every morning at a Manalapan farm.”If not here, they're going to race someplace else or get out of the game.’''

OK, so just how does this affect the quality of life in New Jersey?  Well, some will say that the 176,000 acres of real estate now being used for horse farms and related purposes will be, here comes the dirty word, developed into housing. 

In addition,

“In a study headed by Karyn Malinowski, director of Rutgers' Equine Science Center, the state's equine industry was valued at $4 billion, much of it related to racing. It generates $1.1 billion ($780 million from racing) annually in positive impact on the state economy, the study said, and is responsible for 13,000 jobs, more than half of which are generated by racing-related interests, such as race tracks, and horse breeding and training facilities.”

Read the full story.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow

Vested Title Inc.

648 Newark Avenue, P.O. Box 6453,

Jersey City, NJ 07306

Tel 201-656-9220 - Fax 201-656-4506

E-mail vti@vested.com - www.vested.com

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